Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $2.54 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $290,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $126,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 8,361 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 15,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 50,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 16,044 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $52.63 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $40.33 and a 52-week high of $59.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.04.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. Essent Group had a net margin of 62.75% and a return on equity of 14.44%. The business had revenue of $297.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.38.

Essent Group Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.